It was Friday, 1 July and, after a night when dense clouds lay heavy on the sleeping earth, a humid summer day was dawning. Early-morning mist covered the distant fields like a cloak of secrets. It had been a stifling night and Lily had tossed and turned. She had made excuses to Tom, saying there was a lot on her mind, and they had seen little of each other during the past few weeks. Tom was puzzled, but said he understood. After all, he thought, marriage is a big decision.

Slowly she climbed out of bed, opened her bedroom window and breathed in the summer air. The scent of roses drifted up to greet her as a pink dawn crested the horizon and the clouds cleared.

The cottage was quiet. Freddie was sleeping and Florence had left the previous day to spend a week with her cousin Ingrid in Pickering. Millicent Merryweather had volunteered to take Freddie to school and then on to the junior cricket practice afterwards. Apparently Freddie was showing great promise. ‘They start them playing cricket young in Yorkshire,’ Milly had announced.

However, it was Rudi who dominated her thoughts. She had arranged for him to visit Laurel Cottage that evening at 6.30, an hour before Freddie’s bedtime. Then in early August he was due to return to a new life in Germany.

She closed the window and selected the lightest of her summer dresses from her wardrobe as the heat of the morning touched her skin. An eventful day lay ahead.

Vera had risen early and collected sprigs of mint from the vicarage garden. In her kitchen she chopped it carefully and added equal parts of sugar and brown vinegar. It was intended to create a tasty accompaniment to the lamb chops that were to be the centrepiece of the evening meal.

‘Joseph deserves a treat,’ she said to herself.

Outside the leaded windows, wisteria clung to the window frame and butterflies spread their lace wings on the stems of the buddleia bushes.

A perfect summer morning, thought Vera. Then she looked at the distant clouds over the Hambleton hills and frowned. But I fear a storm is coming our way.

She finished her preparations and set off for school. As she walked across the village green Tom Feather appeared from the Easington road driving his police car. He seemed preoccupied and gave Vera a brief wave as he drove past. She stopped to watch his car travel down the High Street and turn on to the York road. She had seen little of Tom recently and she wondered why.